Tamiya King Tiger Porsche Turrent RC Conversion

By rcgrabbag | Dec 26, 2011

Posted in: RC Tanks

Tamiya makes a full-option RC version of the famous King Tiger tank, but before they offered it, the only way to get a King Tiger full option kit was to make one yourself. Even today, if you want one with the Porsche turret (as opposed to the Henschel), you still need to make one yourself.

Fortunately, with some spare parts from Tamiya, a little ingenuity, and a static 1/16 scale Porsche-turret King Tiger tank from Tamiya, you can have your very own Porsche turret King Tiger full option RC tank.

Here we have the various items needed to do our conversion: Static 1/16 King Tiger tank, Porsche Turret, Multi-Function units for drive mechanism and special effects, and two geared drive units (left and right). I have a full parts list below.

The chassis goes together first. The static version of the King Tiger has a fully working suspension, just like the RC versions, so no modifications are necessary here.

Even though this is a static kit, it uses the chassis from the RC version, so getting the drive components in is a snap. This is a shot of the chassis with the drive units installed. All of the mounting holes are already in the chassis (no drilling required!).

This is the assembled rolling chassis, already painted white (I am doing a winter camouflage theme). I used the stock tracks that came with the kit, but they are flimsy and prone to breaking under RC running. It’s best to upgrade to the heavier plastic tracks of the RC version of the King Tiger, or, get a set of after market metal tracks.

Hull has been painted and weathered. Turret was just set on top for a look. The white stuff on the side of the turret is an epoxy putty used to simulate zimmerit (an anti magnetic mine paste applied to the tank in a ridged pattern). Zimmerit effect is applied to basically all vertical surfaces of the tank. I used the tip of a screwdriver blade to make the ridges. The epoxy putty I used is called Zimm-it-rite and is made by a company called R&J Enterprises. It comes in two 45 gram containers. One order was enough to do the entire tank. Its really great to work with because it has a 2-3 hour working time and is water soluble during that time. I put it on, smooth it out to a very thin layer and let it set up for about 30 min before I start poking it with the screwdriver. At this point, the tank is driveable with the motors and radio installed.

Now we get into the multifunction stuff. First on the list is the barrel recoil mechanism and mount. The left picture is the mantlet and the barrel. Since this is a static model, the mantlet had to be opened up a bit to allow the barrel to slide back and forth (for recoil effect). The picture on the right is the recoil drive mechanism with the mount for it fabricated out of styrene sheet. The small shelf below the hole in the mount is what I’ll mount the recoil unit to. The barrel will slide through the hole above it. Note: The gun flash strobe wires need to be lengthened due to the length of the King Tiger’s barrel.

The opening in the bottom of the King Tiger’s turret is smaller than that of the Tiger 1, so the turret ring is cut and reinforcing material removed so that it can be fit in the King Tiger’s turret opening. Since the ring is glued against the wall of the opening, the reinforcing material isn’t needed. And, it is is easier to conform to the opening without the reinforcing. The ring is mounted so that the toothed portion extends below the opening as pictured above. This is necessary to mate with the output gear of the turret rotation drive. The ring is mounted so that the cut is at the FRONT of the turret opening. This is because the turret rotation drive unit will be mounted to the back of the turret opening in the hull. With the ring cut being at the front of the turret, opposite the drive mechanism, the turret will be able to rotate nearly 360 degrees.

The turret rotation drive is very easy to install. With the turret installed, line up the drive unit with the turret from under side the hull of the tank. I used styrene shims to position it in the proper location. This picture shows it mounted to the exact rear of the turret opening in the hull.

Gun elevation is accomplished here. Temporarily mount the barrel assembly, recoil unit and all, to ensure the gun elevation drive has sufficient clearance. I cut and used the stock Tiger 1 elevation drive mount. It was cut because normally it spans the entire turret opening, but with the smaller opening of the King Tiger, it would obstruct the recoil mechanism. I fabricated an elevation “lever” out of styrene which is mounted at a right angle to the back of my recoil mount. Using ball links, the lever as connected to the output shaft of the elevation drive.

Once this is done, finished assembly proceeds normally, with detail parts added and final paint and weathering.

The finished product!

Here’s a short clip of my converted King Tiger in the snow!

Parts needed for the conversion:

DESCRIPTION	PART NUMBER	TIGER PART	KING TIGER PART
Tamiya motor/gear box (Left)	4205017	Yes
Tamiya motor/gear box (Right)	4205018	Yes
MF-01 Full Hop-Up Package	53446
T-03 DMD Unit	7255012	Yes
Machine Gun Bag	9415666	Yes
J Parts Bag. Parts used: Turret Ring, (3) Rollers, J2, J3 & J4	9115110	Yes
Mechanism Deck	4305434	Yes
Stay Parts Bag: Parts used: Spring, Turret Stay, Recoil Stay, Gun Elev. Stay, Antenna	9415670	Yes
Screw Bag “D”. Parts used: Screws, Washers, Ball Connector	9465564	Yes
Double Sided Tape Bag. Parts used: (2) White Adjusters from this bag. These may be available at hobby shop.	9415678	Yes
Screw Bag “E”. Parts used: threaded rod for White Adjusters. These may be available at hobby shop	9465565	Yes
Screw Bag “B”. Parts used: only E-ring part MB6. This may be available at hobby shop or hardware store	9465562	Yes
Screw Bag from King Tiger	9465553		Yes

NOTE
1: The MF-01 Full Hop-Up Package (#53446), T-03 DMD (#7255012),
and Motor/Gear Boxes can be obtained from Tamiya America.

NOTE
2: The MF-01 Full Hop-Up Package (#53446) includes some hardware
needed, but not all. The remainder can be purchased at your local
hobby shop or hardware store or you can order Screw Bag A (#9415561) and
Bag C (#9465563). Keep in mind that you will only use some of the
parts in Bags A and C.

The
hardware you will need includes:

DESCRIPTION	QTY	USED ON	SCREW BAG
3x6mm metal screws	4	Mechanism Deck	Bag A
3x8mm self tapping screws	3	Mount Turret Rotation Unit	Bag A
3x6mm metal screws	2	Mount Turret Stay to Turret Ring	Bag A
2x4mm metal screws	2	Gun Elevation Unit to Turret Stay	Bag C
3x8mm self tapping screws	4	Mount Recoil Stay to inside of Mantlet	Bag A
2x4mm metal screws	3	Attach Barrel Recoil Unit to Mantlet	Bag C
2x6mm metal screws with counter sink heads	2	Attach Turret Ring to Turret	Bag A
3x8mm self tapping screws	2	Gun Elevation Stay to Mantlet	Bag A